Mr. Erwin sat on his front porch with his crutches by his side. His ankle was feeling better, but he still couldn't walk on it. His wife used to tell him all the time to watch his step. His weak ankles always seemed to find the one hole, uneven road, or short step that would cause his ankle to turn. He sure did miss her. Cancer might have taken her life, but her love still lived deeply in his heart and he thought about her every day. She loved to garden in the backyard and after she passed, he decided to make it his passion. It became a labor of love and an expression of his love for her.

When the twins arrived in front of his house, he greeted them.

“Hey Mr. Erwin,” said Kay. “Where have you been? We missed seeing you last week.”

“Oh, I've been icing and trying to heal my ankle,” he said as he got up from his chair, grabbed his crutches, and hopped down the stairs on one leg towards them. “Sprained it the other day walking out of the store. Haven't been able to work in my garden either and I was wondering if you two could help me real quick. I know you have to get to school but it will only take a few minutes.”

Jay and Kay looked at each other. “Sure, we can help,” Jay said. “What do you want us to do?”

“Follow me,” said Mr. Erwin as he used both crutches to propel himself towards the backyard. “I just need you to unwind the watering hose and move it to the center of the backyard so I can water my trees.”

As they approached the backyard, Jay and Kay stopped for a moment and looked at each other. They didn't say it but they were both thinking the same thing. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?

The backyard was much larger than expected and it was filled with the most beautiful fruit trees they had ever seen. The trees formed a circle surrounding the perimeter of the property with only a small gap for the entrance to the yard. The early sunlight was glistening off the leaves as ripe, plump fruit dangled from the branches. In the center of the circle was an open space with finely manicured short green grass, a bench, and two trees that stood side by side.

They walked to the center and stood in front of the two trees.

“This is beautiful,” said Kay as she nervously tapped her right foot.

“Thank you,” Mr. Erwin answered. “It's a special place. I put a lot of work into it.”

“Why are these two trees by themselves,” asked Jay, who stood with his shoulders slumped.

“I'm glad you asked that,” Mr. Erwin said as he sat down on the bench. “I want to tell you an ancient story about a garden that I imagine looked much like this. It was the Garden where God placed a young man and woman named Adam and Eve. In the middle of the Garden He planted two trees: the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. Do you remember the story?”

“Sort of,” said Jay. “It's been a while since I learned about it in Sunday school.”

“They ate the fruit of the tree when they weren't supposed to, right?” asked Kay as she continued tapping her foot.

“Yes, but before that part, God showed them all the trees in the Garden,” Mr. Erwin said as he pointed to the trees surrounding them, “And God told them that they were free to eat from all these trees, except they were not to eat from one tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that stood next to the Tree of Life. He told them that to eat from this one tree meant that they will die. Then one day a serpent appeared and convinced Eve and Adam to eat from the forbidden tree. As a result of their disobedience, they were banished from the Garden.”

Mr. Erwin continued, “I tried to re-create the beauty of the Garden of Eden, including the two trees right here in front of you. When I sit out here and look at these two trees and all the trees in my garden, I am reminded of so many important life lessons.” He looked at his watch. “Oh, but you must get to school, so we'll save those lessons for another day. I don't want you to be late, so for now I have just one question to ask you. Why did they eat the fruit? If God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the one tree, why did they do so? I'll share the answer with you tomorrow if you want to know. The answer is not what most people think.”